Raw Milk Supporters Deliver Petition to State

DAVE LEFEVER
Editor

At a rally last Saturday on the farm of Mark S. Nolt, Newville, Pa., an estimated 140 people gathered to support Nolt, whose raw milk sales were shut down Aug. 10 because he was operating without a state-issued permit.

Talking by phone this Wednesday, Judy Stoltzfus, an organizer of the Aug. 25 rally at Nature’s Sunlight Farm, said 105 people signed a petition that was hand-delivered Tuesday to the offices of Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania secretary of agriculture, and Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania attorney general.

Stoltzfus, of Loysville, Pa., said that she estimated 85-90 percent of the people at the rally were non-farm supporters.

The “Petition for Redress of Grievances” asks, among other things, for the state to “Immediately stop all of the persecution, prosecution and potential (or actual) imprisonment of Mr. Mark S. Nolt for exercising his God given and constitutionally secured, guaranteed and protected rights, including but not limited to, life; liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting property; contracts; and the pursuit of happiness with respect to providing natural, wholesome raw milk and other raw milk foods. Further, stop the demands that Mr. Nolt obtain any permit or permits, i.e. force him to convert rights into privileges.”

The petition also asks the state to “Stop denying me/us the undersigned, and others, the right to acquire and consume the natural, wholesome raw milk from and other raw milk foods from Mr. Mark S. Nolt’s Farm,” asks that the state provide “the complete name(s) and location(s) of any and all alleged person(s) who has/have allegedly complained that they were made sick by consuming the raw milk and/or other raw milk food(s) from ‘Nature’s Sun Light Farm,’” and asks for compensation of the products, materials and equipment that were confiscated by the state.

Nolt estimated that the state confiscated about $25,000-$30,000 worth of products, packaging supplies and equipment on Aug. 10. On Aug. 2, he said he was told by the state that he had 20 days to obtain a permit to sell raw milk or face arrest.

Prior to the confiscation, Nolt had been selling raw milk without a permit since August of last year.

This past June, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office brought an injunction against Nolt to halt raw milk sales, but Nolt continued to offer raw milk, aged cheese and other products made from raw milk for sale on the farm and at the Carlisle Farmers’ Market.

In Pennsylvania, a permit allows for sales of fresh raw milk and aged cheeses made from raw milk, but not other products such as yogurt and kefir, a fermented milk beverage.

At this point, the milk from Nolt’s herd of about 50 grazing cows is being made into cheese.